NBA Stars And Their Bizarre Affection For Geek Chic Eyewear
Despite the NBA championship reaching scorching temperatures stateside as the best of seven series of games between Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat is currently deadlocked at a win apiece, the hot talking point in the sport recently has focused not on the nuances of the game, but on the quirky attire of some of the team’s leading stars, namely those ‘nerd’ specs seen in post match interviews.
Bold Statement or Fashion Faux Pas?
The players in question include LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat team, alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant of the Thunder roster. In varying interviews recently each have been donning oversized, lens free, thick-rimmed specs and general clothing most commonly associated with the hipster or geek chic movement, rather than the traditional sneaker wearing sporting idol attire attributed to basketball stars in the same vein.
Children across the USA are known to flock towards sports goods stores to grab the latest branded sports clothing associated with these stars, but it’s unlikely they will be rushing to pick up the cardigans and plaid socks worn alongside the large specs, although alternatively an unusual target market for the style may have been found in the sporting world.
How did the Recent Trend Begin?
Unusually sitting alongside discussions of tactics and big game moments, there has been a certain amount of trash talking on who started the trend which has continued to explode amongst NBA’s top stars recently, with Westbrook claiming he started the trend as a player known for an extravagant dress sense in the past, now sporting bright red framed glasses in which he claims to ‘see better without them (lenses)’, stating that it all began when he entered the league back in 2008. James disputes this fact, although historically, lensless glasses are a form of subculture starting outside of the sporting world thought to originate amongst teenagers in the Asian community.
Why do the Players Wish to Wear the Specs?
The players argue that the look isn’t some bold fashion or cultural statement, but Nick Collison, of the Thunder team, put forward a theory that the players wear them because they believe it makes them appear smarter, perhaps a retort to the stereotypical notion that sports stars possess limited knowledge outside of their chosen discipline. It may also be a natural progression of the willingness of players to move away from the hip hop culture image associated with the sport, while some believe that it helps them deflect intense media scrutiny post match. For the moment thought, this bemusing yet amusing public fashion display continues to intrigue the watching fans and press.
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